Top 5 Reasons Why Mobile Apps Crash

Who doesn’t hate crashing apps or the opens that work like a sloth or freeze for few seconds, we all do. Research by Dimensional Research shows that around 61% smartphone users expect every mobile app they use to start within just four seconds, whereas around 49% of the users want to respond to inputs within just two seconds. If any app freezes, crashes or shows recurring errors, around 53% smartphone users will uninstall them.

Whether you are targeting individuals or the entire enterprise crowd, upsetting them with your apps is the quickest way to being shunned out. After having a word with several experienced mobile developers we have churned out a list of five major development failures which take your app astray and throw it down the performance cliff.

Managing Memory

One of the biggest problems which most of the developers were shouting out loud was memory management. A mobile app may be twinning around too many threads and sipping in a lot of memory resources or running on a gadget with way too many apps open.

Most of the coders take the liberty of writing long and complex codes as their’s is the only app that exists in a device. The apps are no less than little digital divas, wanting all the limelight- and draining all the gadget’s resources. We are in dire need of more good citizens in the app ecosystem. Dear developers, keep in mind that most of the smartphone users don’t use the apps in high-end updated gadgets like yours, and better the memory management of your app better will be the user experience.

Poor Network Management

The tech-friendly ambiance gives most of the developers access to super-fast internet. But this can be a huge problem while planning an app development process; a very common mistake which developers make is assuming that just like them we all reside in a 30mbps utopia. Another important reason why most of the apps crash is the responsiveness and freezing apps in the middle of the use, mostly when you are waiting for a response from the apps’ end.

If developers don’t pay heed to this, your app is prone to crashes, as a huge network dependency combined with snack-slow access to the internet can notably lessen the responsiveness of any app thereby leading to instability, poor performance, and some downtime.

Deficient Testing

iPhone is just eleven years old and since the first of the mighty gadget was unveiled, the world now has more than 40 variants of the Apple machines. Does this raise your eyebrows? Let’s count the Android mobile models, back in 2015 the world had more than 24000 Android mobile variations, with a large number of manufacturers globally it’s nearly impossible to keep a complete tally. The pace of these roll-outs in not going to slow down making it very difficult for developers to test their solutions in real-time on all the devices, especially its a low-budget project. There is a bag full of emulators and simulators available in the market but they all have their own drawbacks. They are unable to give us the exact effect of issues like overheated or low battery, working of the gadget’s camera while the app is open or interruptions by incoming calls.

Things pointed out by the simulator may have their own limitations, just like emulators, as it is unable to replicate the device’s hardware. The complete testing process should be clubbed with benchmarking against the available industry standards and the expectations of the user to make sure that the developer and the user are on the same table.

Error & Exception Handling

Whatever you may try and implement to make the app as flexible as possible, you will still have a few variables and limitations which will be out of our control. Let’s take an instance if during a file transfer a user’s wi-fi stop working, or if they enter a wrong value into a given field, it may send the application on a topsy-turvy ride. Such unexpected issues may cause the app to crash, and thereby frustrate the users.

However, it’s not always that the app crashes but at times may leave the user in the middle of haywire, not knowing what’s actually happening and what they need to do now. This uncertainty may be more frustrating for the user than the actual app crash. It’s of utmost importance that you as an app maker take in considerations all such errors and put all these handling conditions into place.

Also, if you notice a fault in your app, first-things-first terminate all the activities and let your users know about it. Sounds unreasonable? But if you proactively manage the communication with your users and give them a heads-up beforehand of any outrage, they are most likely to stay with you for long.

Software lifecycle

The whole iterative app development process- release of a beta version of the application in the market and gradually improving issues thereafter- this one after the other releases helps the apps to build an audience by improving the MVP which they offer firsthand. This highly acknowledged concept comes with a set of goods & bads- where on one hand you can measure user reaction, identify various issues, create a marketing shout-out and get an upper-hand on your potential competition if you are all set to bring about a game changer in the market and more.

The bag of advantages may be heavier in this case but the absence of traditional software lifecycle brings about several crucial complications as its dependent on the third-party API’s and operating system. This stage-by-stage process requires top-notch professionals to keep a track of everything.  With the rollout of every new version, all the previous testing has to be done again. In simple words, an early release of the app to the market makes it prone to a pile of flaws. Make a note, if the app keeps freezing and crashing users won’t consider whether its the first version or the last. They’ll just delete it.

Can we actually create a bug-free mobile application(on the first go)? Probably not. However, you can put your heads to the trouble-makers and do your best to do your best to make a powerful exception handling for the issues that may go wrong. No app is perfect and yours too will have some hiccups, but you can make sure they are not huge, not the ones which make the users hate you.